Frying Oil Filtration: SuperSorb CarbonPads vs. Adsorbent Powder

Frying Oil Filtration: SuperSorb CarbonPads vs. Adsorbent Powder

What Happened When a Large Seafood Chain Switched to SuperSorb?

A large seafood chain of more than 600 locations uses multiple fryers that are dedicated to specific menu items – French fries, chicken, shrimp, oysters, hush puppies, and fish. Their frying oil process included a cascading system that transferred oil from fryer to fryer at the end of each day. Over the course of several days, when one batch of oil reached the final fryer, it was filtered with adsorbent powder and a sieving screen. Finally, operators evaluated its condition.

As part of an evaluation to improve their frying oil system by reducing operating costs including oil filtering procedure times, reducing oil usage, enhancing product quality, improving chemical indices of oil quality, and reducing time for cleanup, the chain initiated a trial study of SuperSorb® CarbonPads.

The following factors were measured:

* Oil Chemistry – Free fatty acids (FFA), soaps, total polar materials (TPM), and TPM using a hand held meter, the latter two tests were conducted on selected samples only that were collected each day before and after treatment for both systems

* Rate of Filtration – How long did it take at the end of each day to filter the oil from all the fryers?

* Average Oil Usage – How much oil was used ,especially over the last two days of frying?

The following systems were evaluated:

* SuperSorb CarbonPads

* Sieve Screen and Adsorbent Powder

* Paper Filter and Adsorbent Powder

THE STUDY:

Each of the systems was evaluated independently for five days. The first fryer in the cascade was filled with fresh oil at the beginning of each day, and they oil from each fryer was filtered twice daily (mid day and at day’s end). Like before, oil was transferred to the next fryer at the end of each day, and the oil in the final fryer was evaluated based on the color of the foods and smoke emitted from the frying oil.

Oil samples were collected from the last four fryers in the cascade before and after filtering, and they were shipped to an outside laboratory for analysis. Total oil usage and fry life was monitored. And finally, the amount of time required to filter oil each day was recorded using a stopwatch for all three systems throughout each five-day period.

OIL USAGE AND LIFECYCLE:

The SuperSorb CarbonPads provided the longest oil life. SuperSorb and the combination of the powder, screen, and paper used the same amount of oil, while just the powder and screen used twice the volume of oil. In terms of lifecycle, based on data recorded by the seafood chain, usable fry oil life was shown as follows:

In terms of oil analysis, the oil chemistry for the SuperSorb product and the combination of screen, adsorbent powder, and paper were very similar. There were really no significant differences between the two. At a glance, it appeared that the oil chemistry of the system using the screen and adsorbent powder were better. However, this apparent improvement may be attributed to dilution. This system used twice the volume of fresh oil as the other two.

FILTRATION RATE:

The most dramatic differences between the three oil management systems were shown in the rate of filtration. Using the SuperSorb pads, operators saved at least an hour a day.

SUMMARY:

SuperSorb CarbonPads improved oil life for this large seafood chain by three days over the other two treatments. In addition, they sped up oil filtration by a minimum of one hour and as much as 226 minutes when compared to the adsorbent powder and sieve screen oil treatment.

Try SuperSorb Pads, and see for yourself.

Chain restaurant operators across the country are learning about the savings in both time and money by using SuperSorb CarbonPads. Get a free trial, test our pads, and see the difference for yourself.